


Part 4: Field Trip

by NerdHQ_084



Series: The Adventures of Jess and the Logic Doc [4]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: F/M, Feels what feels, For sucker_for_pain, Logic Doc Evolves, Merry Christmas Post, Other, The end is nigh..., We Gettin Angsty, in about 2 more parts, part4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 13:08:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17002260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdHQ_084/pseuds/NerdHQ_084
Summary: Jess is bored (again) and convinced our favorite one-eyed scientist to go somewhere with her. But things don't go like they expect.





	Part 4: Field Trip

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AnIdentityCrisis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnIdentityCrisis/gifts).



> Nnnnnnnerdlings!!!!!!
> 
> Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/etc :) Another day, another post, another bit of squish this time. I also have a plan for the next Post-Frisbee relations part and I'm super excited about it. And Relic Hunter...well, that's seen no attention...directly at least :P I think this plot line/origin story will wrap up in 2 more parts, so enjoy my little holiday gift to everyone. You won't hear from me for a few weeks at least :)
> 
> -Ghost

            She finally got her exo-armor back. After over a deca-cycle. But Shockwave was curious about how it worked and apparently trusted her enough to return it. So now Jess walked among the giant robots with ease, even racing with Knockout on occasion, though her jet form usually won. But she was still getting stir-crazy, being confined to her lab and Shockwave’s. So naturally, she bothered her warden.

            “Shock Doc, when are you going to let me go?” He looked at her, expressionless as usual. “What? Human’s aren’t built to do any one thing or stay in any one place forever.”

“You have your lab. You did say that would sate your interests.”

“Scientifically yes. Believe it or not, even a cold introvert like myself requires social interaction, with other humans. There are some fundamental experience differences that make my interactions with you guys…difficult.”

“So what is it that you want?”

“Freedom.”

“Freedom is a relative term.”

“True, but humans aren’t so easily confined. We should go on a field trip. You could observe some other humans. What’s your alt mode?”

“I am a Cybertronian battle tank. I do not think your species would take kindly to that appearance.”

“Hmm…alright, then we will observe from afar. And I’ll run down and get my fill of annoying pests for the day. It won’t take much. But first, I have a place back in my home terrain I want to show you. You could use a change of scenery too.”

“Very well. Give Soundwave the coordinates. I’ll meet you at the bridge.” She grinned, nodding and running off. If Shockwave could have smirked at her enthusiasm, he would have. He hadn’t seen this side of her yet and it intrigued him…even excited him a bit. What she could possibly want to share with him, he did not know, but it made her eyes light up in a unique way and he liked it. Happy humans were certainly more tolerable, although the overly excited ones were extremely irritating. They bridged to the base of a forested mountain and Jess grinned wildly.

“You brought us to…a mountain?”

“Not just any mountain. C’mon!” She ran off on a well concealed trail, Shockwave following slowly. This made no sense. What could possibly be so special about a random mountain? His research indicated that they were very common land masses on this planet. But he knew her, and therefore he knew he would just have to follow along if he wanted answers.

The climbed for a good hour or more, Jess never once slowing down. Clearly this was something she had done frequently. She did stop suddenly when she heard a faint noise. Naturally, the doc readied his cannon, but she waved him down.

“Put that down, and shh! Look.” She pointed to a small space off the trail. A small group of large, four-legged creatures were looking around cautiously. Scans suggested they were some variation of a creature called elk. “Alashan wapiti. The rarest elk subtype in existence, only found in this region of Asia. They are beautifully intelligent and spotting a larger herd like this is very unusual. Unless you come to this mountain trail. This particular group has been here over a decade. I believe those fawns are the fifth generation of that stag.” Shockwave noted this information.

“You’ve been studying them?”

“Indirectly, yes. I’m not much of a biologist, but I started seeing them here frequently so I began to casually observe and track their activity. Whenever I came here, that is.”

“Where exactly is here?”

“A south Mongolian range. No name, just a small collective. Not many people come here, so I enjoy the serenity.” The elk caught wind of something and decided to move elsewhere, so the odd pair continued their hike, reaching a clearing near the peak around mid-day. There was a quiet stream running through it and the light filtered softly through the tall trees. Shockwave was surprised at how much he liked the place. “This is it. My own haven in this crazy world.”

“It is beautiful…well, for your plan-“

“Shockwave, it’s okay to be a bit amazed on occasion.” She chuckled.

“Amazement is highly…”

“Illogical? Of course it is. But it still happens. And I appreciate the rare things that amaze me, as they are typically great feats of either science or nature. Such as this place.”

“You seem to understand me rather well.”

“You’re not that hard to figure out. If it’s illogical, you don’t do it. Unless I make a good argument and talk you into it.” She smirked at him. “But you seem to have figured me out as well, at least somewhat. Or you’ve just given up trying to fight me on certain things.”

“You are incredibly stubborn, that is for sure.”

“Eh, so are you. Maybe that’s why we make a good team. We challenge each other in weird ways that somehow make things work. I dunno.” He pondered this. A team, hm. He hadn’t actively considered that possibility. Nor had he accounted for human bonds when he took her in the first place. He suspected that her bringing him to such a special place signified the presence of some form of attachment. Intriguing.

“Am I correct in assuming that by bringing me here you are demonstrating a level of trust or attachment?” Her eyes went wide for a moment and her face became faintly pinker.

“Well, I wouldn’t say _attachment_ , uh…and I don’t know about trust…you’re still my captor…heh…”

“You are displaying abnormal behavior. Did I say something that disrupted you?”

“Well…no, not really. I’m sure you don’t understand what a statement like that means to us humans. So it’s fine…emotions are fickle, and illogical, but sometimes they can’t be stopped.”

“Help me understand you then. What did you take my meaning to be?”

“Uhm…well, human trust is a tricky thing, and there are a lot of aspects to it. You can trust someone to, say, drive you somewhere without getting into a car crash, but that doesn’t mean you necessarily trust them to help you when you’re in a tough spot, ya know?”

“That is the same on Cybertron. We have many levels of trust. So the difference must be in attachments.” She looked away from him again, moving to sit on a large rock by the stream. Shock followed, sitting beside her and waiting for a reply. This topic troubled her for some reason.

“How do I explain human attachment? Especially since it’s almost entirely emotional? You barely grasp emotion as it is.”

“I…understand emotion better than most realize. I simply have trained myself to not acknowledge such feelings. Unless they are absolutely necessary.”

“Really? I…didn’t know that. You do a good job keeping them in check then. Alright, well, attachments are multifaceted too, but the basic types are friendly, familial, and romantic. I haven’t had any actual relationships with other people in years. No family, no friends, not even frag buddies. Never saw the need. Connections like that only hurt you in the long run, be it physically or psycho-emotionally. Uh, what do you want me to start with?”

“I understand the human construct of family. It does not seem to be so bad. If you have a good family, at least. Many I have read about are…you would say, dramatic? So perhaps explain your ideas of friendship.”

“So, the average human makes friends fairly easily. Not necessarily the close friends that you would go to if you ended up homeless or needed back up, but the people that you go have fun with or travel with or invite to birthday parties and weddings. Close friends take more time and that goes back to the trust thing. I’ve never been good at making anything more than friendly acquaintances. It takes a lot for me to even want to spend more than a few hours of time with another person, let alone feel comfortable crashing at their place or sharing a hotel room while we travel the world.”

“You seem to tolerate me. And you did bring me here, a place that is clearly special to you.”

“Well, I didn’t exactly have a choice, but yes, so I suppose I would consider us friends, from my side at least. Which is another problem. Friendship goes both ways. You can’t really call someone your friend if they don’t see you in the same light. Or, you can, but it’s awkward. Not sure what else to say about that.”

“Hmm…you humans are very complex creatures. I am under the impression the third type is the most difficult for you.”

“You could say that. Romantic relationships are the most illogical of them all, and the most painful. I’ve never pursued that side of things. No time and I don’t like people, as I assume you’ve noticed. I guess romantic attachment is beyond me. I’m not even sure if I would know if I developed those kinds of feelings. So…yeah…”

“Or you would lie to yourself and say that there’s no way you’re feeling that way about someone.” She was taken aback. He couldn’t have been more right, which was slightly unnerving.

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, based on your explanations, my original statement is exactly what I meant to say. Therefore your reaction was warranted and you seemed to be trying to hide something.”

“Well, what’s it to you anyway. I’m just your captured help and glorified secretary.”

“That is incorrect. You are a valuable assistant. If I didn’t appreciate your presence, you would have been dead by now. But you have surprised me, and continue to do so. Therefore I like keeping you around. And events like today are particularly intriguing.” Jess smiled faintly.

“Heh, well, thanks I guess. Coming from you, that means a fair bit. But, all this seriousness aside, I’ve been thinking about that synthetic body thing we talked about. And I still want to try it.”

“Hunter, that’s a one-way trip. And you could very easily die, or worse, if anything went wrong. Why are you so intrigued by this? Is this an old M.E.C.H. aspiration?” She sighed.

“Well, it was originally, but, especially after the talk we just had, it’s now more of a personal thing. I do find myself getting along better with any of you cons than I ever have with humans. I don’t fit in here and there’s no one who would miss me. So the idea of being part of revolutionary science and possibly getting a chance at a new life is very appealing. Just watch, we will go spend time among some of the locals and I’ll be very out of place. Not just because of the culture, because I did live here for a large part of my life, but as a person. I honestly feel that if I could have chosen to be something other than human when I was born, I would have. I think that’s why I pursued sciences, so that I could learn to create my own perfect self and world.”

Shockwave watched her in silence. She was so conflicted and uncomfortable, another thing he’d never seen. She was always so certain and sure of herself. Perhaps this would actually help her and remove the uncertainties that troubled her. But the dangers were so great, and he didn’t want to risk his assistant’s life just for the sake of a likely one-time procedure. Jess looked at him with sad eyes, expecting him to tell her no, most likely. And something in his spark just couldn’t do that to her.

“Alright, we will try it. It will take time to grow the frame, and I’ll have to find a substitute for the Allspark used in the war experiments. I do not know what a cortical psychic patch will do to the human brain, or how your memories will transfer, so we will program as much as we can into your new processor prior to the transfer.”

“Really?! You’ll actually let me do this…thank you!” She jumped onto his shoulder and hugged his helm, before quickly pulling away. “Uh, sorry…stupid impulse...” He chuckled, which she had never heard him do before.

“It’s alright. I am getting used to your outbursts. Should we head to a town before the day expires?”

“Heh, sure. There’s one not far from where we first were.”

“My alt mode can get us down faster. I believe much of the trail was clear enough for me to operate without damaging the surroundings.”

“Oh, sweet! Tank mode sounds awesome.” He nodded and transformed, having her ride next to his cannon. She grinned the whole way down, thoroughly enjoying herself. And his company, though she’d never admit it. “Oh, hey Shock…what if I wanted to be a mech? A carrier mech?”

“You can become anything you want. Why a carrier?”

“Well, while I generally have a more masculine approach to life and personality, I still have feminine moments. So I feel like a carrier mech is a good balance between the two. Also, what are my T-cog limitations? Like, can I transform into more than one thing? Or does that not exist?”

“It is possible. Uncommon, but easy enough to create. Did you have something in mind?”

“Well, one car one jet. Jet is more efficient, but the idea of a nice looking car alt mode that I can race Knockout with is appealing. And I can’t decide.”

“We will incorporate that into your frame then. Any other requirements?”

“Hm, paint is a post-transfer thing, no?”

“Indeed.”

“Then nope, that’s it. Though I’ll give you the paint job specs before the transfer, in case some things get lost.” They made it to the town just before sundown and Shockwave hung on the outskirts while Jess explored. She was right, her entire persona was out of place among other humans. Even the few merchants who recognized her and were friendly got a passively cold response. As dark fell, Shockwave had lost sight of her, so he radioed in.

“Hunter, where are you? We need to return to the ship.” He just got static as a reply. The town had almost completely closed up, so he transformed, calling again. “Hunter, respond.” Still nothing, so he went looking for her, careful not to alert any humans to his presence. He didn’t need that right now. Tracking the faint signal of her comm led him out towards the mountains again until he reached the road at the base. And saw what happened.

The Autobots had Hunter.


End file.
